Blockbuster Films Lead NBC to Weekly Feast

A stampede of movie blockbusters--including repeats of “Jurassic Park” and “Home Alone”--gobbled up another easy ratings victory for NBC last week, according to figures released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research.

The third airing of “Jurassic Park” helped NBC roar to a rare Sunday win while taking a bite out of Fox’s “The X-Files,” which scored its lowest rating this season. Nearly 24 million people also tuned in Thanksgiving night--again--to see Macaulay Culkin outwit adults in “Home Alone,” which attracted more than twice as many viewers as CBS’ restored “My Fair Lady.” NBC delivered big numbers as well Saturday night with the dog-themed comedy “Beethoven’s 2nd,” starring Charles Grodin.

The week also marked the onset of a barrage of holiday specials. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” won its Friday time period with CBS’ highest rating that hour in nearly a year, though CBS and ABC didn’t fare nearly as well with music-themed specials hosted by Dolly Parton and Vanessa Williams, respectively.

Fox, meanwhile, continues to reel in big numbers with specials like “Close Call: Cheating Death,” which delivered the network’s highest rating in its time slot since February.

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Southland Ratings

Here are A.C. Nielsen’s Top 10 prime-time programs in the Los Angeles area during the same week. Each rating point equals 49,424 households.

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Program Station Rating 1. Home Improvement KABC 17.0 2. Frasier KNBC 16.8 3. The X-Files KTTV 16.1 4. “Close Call: Cheating Death” KTTV 16.0 5. The Simpsons KTTV 15.8 6. NYPD Blue KABC 15.3 7. ER KNBC 15.0 -- Touched by an Angel KCBS 15.0 9. Spin City KABC 14.6 10. “Jurassic Park” KNBC 14.3

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Weekly Averages

NBC: 10.9

ABC: 9.9

CBS: 9.4

FOX: 7.0

UPN: 3.2

WB: 2.6

Season to Date

NBC: 11.0

CBS: 10.0

ABC: 9.8

FOX: 8.3

UPN: 3.4

WB: 2.8